Chinese actress Fan Bingbing, who has been banned in the mainland for seven years, made a strong comeback by being nominated for the Best Actress award at the 62nd Golden Horse Awards with the film “Mother Earth” directed by Malaysian director Zhang Jian. She will compete against other actresses such as Ivy Chen, Rene Liu, and Gao Yiling.
The competition at this year’s Golden Horse Awards is intense, with the film “Great Mist” receiving 11 nominations including Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress. “Left-Handed Girl” follows closely with 9 nominations, while “Mother Earth” and “Our Family Matters” are tied with 8 nominations each.
Filmed in Kedah, Malaysia last year, “Mother Earth” received nominations for Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Original Film Music, Best Original Film Song, and Best Sound Effects.
Fan Bingbing’s nomination for “Mother Earth” will see her competing for the Best Actress award alongside Gao Yiling from “Our Family Matters,” Rene Liu from “Our Unexpected Courage,” Ivy Chen from “Deep Quiet,” and Fang Yuting from “Great Mist.”
Director Zhang Jian shared on Facebook: “October 1st, double good news! ‘Mother Earth’ (MOTHER BHUMI) was just nominated for the main competition of the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival at noon, and later received 8 nominations at the 62nd Golden Horse Awards!”
In 2018, Fan Bingbing got involved in a tax evasion scandal due to “yin-yang contracts,” causing her career to plummet. Although she paid over 880 million yuan in taxes, fines, and penalties as instructed by the Chinese authorities to avoid criminal liability, she disappeared from the mainland entertainment circle since then.
Struggling on the edge of a comeback for many years, Fan Bingbing expressed her hardship at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2023, saying, “Not acting for 5 years is quite cruel for an actress.” Unable to make a comeback in the Chinese entertainment industry, she appeared in the Korean film “Green Night,” which was nominated in the Berlin International Film Festival, and made guest appearances in the Korean drama “The Knowing” starring Kim Haneul and Lee Yoowon. She also co-starred with Hollywood actor Liam Neeson in “The Ice Road 2.”
According to the Malaysian media “China Press,” Fan Bingbing portrayed a widow and sorceress in “Mother Earth.” To fully embody her character, she started preparing for the film in June 2024, learning Malay, Fujian dialect, Malaysian Mandarin accent, Siamese, and Pali languages, and gained 6 kilograms.
Fan Bingbing’s character in the film required numerous scenes of planting in the fields. Director Zhang Jian had initially arranged a body double with a similar silhouette for these scenes, but Fan Bingbing insisted on doing the planting herself without any resistance. Both of them went to Kedah to experience planting together once, and Fan Bingbing completed the task within half a day, “from start to finish.”
Fan Bingbing, who has been banned in mainland China for 7 years, revealed that during her tenure as a tourism ambassador in Malaysia in 2023, she proactively asked for director Zhang Jian’s contact information. After meeting and chatting with him, their collaboration for “Mother Earth” was set in motion.
At a press conference, Zhang Jian expressed his initial awe upon seeing Fan Bingbing for the first time, saying, “This woman is so beautiful. Everyone can only see her beauty in the movie, ignoring the story.” He mentioned that typically he did not prefer actors with strong celebrity aura, but Fan Bingbing told him, “When I appear at film festivals and on the red carpet, I am a star and must present my best self. But in the movie, treat me like garbage, you can mess me up as much as you want.” This demonstrates her eagerness for a comeback in acting.